Alleged Comanchero member refused bail despite claiming he lost 31kg behind bars because of sleep apnoea

Further messages from AN0M chat groups that sparked the massive Operation Ironside police blitz have been heard in court as part of an alleged bikie’s bid for bail.

An alleged member of the Comanchero who is charged with conspiracy to murder, trafficking 39kg of methamphetamine and planning to bash a fellow bikie has lost 31kg in custody because he can’t use his sleep apnoea machine properly, a court has heard.

The man, whose name is suppressed to protect the integrity of multiple trials, was one of dozens of people arrested on June 7 last year when police shut down the encrypted AN0M app.

On Friday he appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court among numerous other Operation Ironside co-accused where he applied for home detention bail.

The court heard the man was alleged to be a fully patched members of the Comancheros and had been in possession of an AN0M enabled device which was itself part of a general Comanchero chat group.

The prosecutor said the man was also part of an AN0M chat group called “Get It Done” in which several senior members of the gang were alleged to have discussed luring a fellow member to a location away from security cameras where he would be bashed.

The court heard one of the messages encouraged the other members of the group to “make sure that a proper statement is sent, make sure s**t is broken good”.

Marie Shaw QC, for the man, said her client suffered from severe sleep apnoea which resulted in him ceasing to breath as many as 100 times an hour.

Magistrate John Wells heard that while the man had been provided with a sleep apnoea machine in his cell, a crucial component which records the data from the device had been removed.

Because of the lack of data, Mrs Shaw said the man was receiving too much oxygen and was at risk.

The court heard that as a result of his disturbed sleep, the man had lost 31kg while in custody.

Prosecutors opposed the man being released on any kind of bail.

The man is also accused of “chopping” shipments of 20kg and 19kg of methamphetamine which had been shipped into SA from out of state.

The court heard that precise messages sent over the AN0M app linked the man to 5kg batches cut down from the original shipment which would then be delivered him by courier level members of the syndicate.

Prosecutors also alleged that the man had been responsible for sourcing a firearm which would have been used in a conspiracy to murder a man at Rosslyn Park.

Mrs Shaw argued that her client had not been spotted anywhere near the alleged target of the shooting and the prosecution case hinged in the AN0M messages, the validity of which remain in doubt.

Mr Wells refused the man bail, saying the offending was too serious.